PITT is bending over backward to get that sellout. PITT will have free “Pat Signal” tatoos before the game…
Here’s the windup and the pitch…
In exactly three months we’ll start to see how the “Narduzzi Ultimatum” project is going to play out for the 2015 season. September 5th is the opening game against the Youngstown State Penguins and who knows at this point what will happen.
Before we start marking down a tick mark in the win column for that game just remember that 1) we have lost to this school in the past and 2) their head coach has way more experience and a better track record in his HC jobs than ours has – which is nil.
YSU’s new HC Bo Pelini is no slouch as program leader. He went 67-27 at the Big Ten’s Nebraska racking up three 9-4 seasons before being fired after last season for being a pain in the ass and his attitude toward Nebraska fans (NSFW). He’s pretty beautiful in his own way.
He’s going up against a HC at PITT, Pat Narduzzi, who has zero experience being a head coach at any level. That is worrisome to me.
It could be that this game, being Narduzzi’s first ever as a HC, will be a closer game than most fans think. We PITT fans are relying on Narduzzi’s experience as a successful DC to give us a better defense and an edge in games when combined with the offense we are returning. But Pelini has a fine track record coaching on the defensive side of the ball also as the DC at Nebraska and as co-DC at Oklahoma. That might be a push on the defensive side but I have to give Pelini a wide margin over Narduzzi based on his HC experience.
As far as PITT having a big advantage in players that may be, at least on the offensive side of the ball. However, those players on the YSU team went 7-5, 8-4 and 7-4 over the last three season so they know what winning ball games and winning seasons feel like. Our players? They are hoping to drag themselves out of mediocrity.
We will have better talent on our side I’m sure but on the defensive side of the ball we have a lot of question marks regarding just how good the individual players are. But PITT is not a powerhouse football program or powerful enough team to automatically assign wins and there is a huge question mark in my mind regarding how well they will play coming out of the gate in Narduzzi’s rookie season.
Back in 2012 before the YSU opening game I was at a tailgate and when the suspensions were announced I said “Damn! We are going to lose this game” and I took a full barrage of crap for stating that. But I felt the outcome was shaky anyway in being a rookie HC’s first game and then the subsequent suspensions put the bad mojo onto the game.
I very much doubt we’ll have any suspensions to worry about this season but anytime we have a brand new full coaching staff I get nervous as to when the team will settle in and start playing good football. We have seen PITT falter in that with every HC going back to Wannstedt (Harris did OK in his first four games) and I don’t want to see these slow starts become a tradition.
If you remember with DW it was the 16-10 loss to mighty Ohio in his third game; with Graham it was the way too close win over Maine by 35-29 points (29!) and with Chryst it was, of course, the YSU 31-17 loss in his first game. Toss in a few more losses to teams we were a ‘lock to beat’; DW’s 27-17 loss to Bowling Green in the opening game in ’08 and Chrys’s loss to Akron in ’14 and there isn’t a team in any of our schedules that we can’t lose to.
I think Narduzzi has a bigger job cut out of him in that YSU game than other fans do and, at least until fall camp is finished, I wouldn’t put a penny down on a sure PITT win. Anyway, it is something to think about until the next football article shows up.
As for the ticket deal offered above I’m buying four and inviting friends who haven’t been to a PITT game before. I’ll hold those $10 concession coupons though until they start selling beer in the cheap seats and by then the coupons will be antique collectors items.
Hey my friends, I didn’t mean to harsh your TGIF trip so I’ll leave you with this… Yea Us!!! (Never, ever gets old.)
P/S: Here is the latest Chris Peake Rivals.com podcast. As usual it is a good one. He addresses our TEs and our opponent VT. This is a continuing thing that he is doing in reviewing the positions on the PITT team.
Pitt’s personnel need a spark to inspire them to play to their full potential, all the time. Football is a game of emotion and momentum and HCPC, although a fine teacher of the game, produced little excitement by his demeanor and actions as our head coach. He expected his charges to be responsible for self motivation and self discipline IMO. This might be appropriate for an NFL team roster filled with grown men but the college game is different than that.
This 18-22 year old crowd can be very susceptible to emotional roller coasters both highs and lows and the coaches can have a direct influence on modulating those swings and if good handlers can instill game highs in the team at just the right times for maximum performance. Call it what you want, killer instinct, championship attitude, quiet confidence, whatever! The Panthers DIDN’T show it in loses to YSU, Cincy right after that, UVA and especially Akron! Other close loses ended up as defeats due to being unable to make the critical plays when they had to. That has as much to do with the mental side of the game as it does the physical.
I fault Chryst in that regard, he was an adequate teacher but failed IMHO on being a true goal setting, motivating exciting football coach that could will his teams to victory.
@ Dark Knight, just so we’re clear in this point. The best player should be the starter at every position on Pitt’s roster this year without exception. So I have no vested interest in seeing CV under center all season long for any other factor than he is the best prepared QB that’s available to lead us to victory. If Peterman comes into fall camp and lights it up and can supercharge the offense with is play right off the bat, then that’s all good and I’m supporting playing him. I just don’t see that happening.
I’m right there with you wanting Pitt to excell in the ACC and become relevant nationally again, it’s been a long wait. Just because I disagree with you on some points does not equate me as being satisfied with Pitt’s current stint of mediocrity. Talk is the easy part, show me Peterman can do it, then there will be some substance to your expectations. I anticipate Voytik being better this year than last, with additional experience and maturity. Give him some help from the D and U think we’ll be just fine this season with him taking snaps.
Unlike you, I’m most concerned with our defense and lack of a pass rush with our front four. That’s this team’s glaring weakness going into fall camp.
Really can’t wait to see what Narduzzi and Conklin do with GT, that is a litmus test for the ends and linebackers, and the new scheme.
The other concern is will the young O-linemen step up to make us forget Clemmings and Rotherham, this is Chryst’s legacy, we have great depth, but will they dominate?
Finally I hope we see the Pat signal soon, for Pitt to get really better, we need stud players at all positions, this is Narduzzi’s biggest challenge.
Flacco was recruited by Walt and I believe was a big catch from NJ when we landed him in ’03 or ’04 I think. Palko was a very good QB for us on some seriously limited teams so I had no problem with him holding down the starting job.
I think Flacco played two season at Delaware, but very likely would have played two seasons at Pitt had he stayed — he just didn’t want to wait an extra year for it…can’t totally blame him but Pitt would have been impressive in ’07 and ’08 had he stuck around. Oh well.
You do it because you lack focus and discipline and motivation. That focus and attention to detail comes from the coaches and Paul Chryst does not have it. Fine X’s and O’s, has some nice qualities like I said, but he’s shown no ability to motivate kids to play. And, as you know and have written about, as I recall, players have said that they were taking plays off because they knew Donald and other stars were going to pick up the slack. That is exactly the kind of unfocused, unmotivated crap Chryst let happen on his watch.
The biggest revelation on offense is that Bowden said Zips fans shouldn’t be surprised to see both Pohl and Tra’Von Chapman (Kent Roosevelt) play during the regular season, signaling that there isn’t a lot of distance between the two.
“Both guys had a good spring,” he said. “I think as I was out there watching, I don’t think you can necessarily say that we won’t use two quarterbacks this fall. There are things that Kyle Pohl does better. There are things that Tra’Von Chapman does better. It would not disappoint me if both played a factor in our offense next year.”
Chapman didn’t get the offense into the end zone, but after sitting out last season following his transfer from Ashland University, there has to be some rust.
“I give myself a C [from] missing throws high. That’s the thing about a spring game,” Chapman said. “Timing is difficult to get when you’re switching reps with ones and twos. It will get better.
That’s exactly my point. And I don’t believe it was isolated to YSU. It happened a lot.
I’m not excusing that loss to YSU at all, it shouldn’t have happened. but I also realize that roster had been through two straight years of crap with all the firings, staff coaches changing, coordinators changing, etc…
That three staff changes in three years alone placed a ton of turmoil in the clubhouse. The transition from Chryst, who left for a different job on good terms with everybody, and he was very well liked and respected by the players and the admin, to a nice easy hire in Narduzzi was a cakewalk compared to what those 2012 kids had been through the previous two years.
Should we have come out better and won that game? Absolutely yes! Do I understand some of the factors that led to that loss, yes again. There is a difference between reasons and excuses and the bottom line reason for that opening game loss is that the YSU staff and players were way more ready and excited about the game then the Panthers were.
That game and the hangover loss to Cincinnati were a bad start but the team came out very motivated against a #13 VT team and won handily. That ’12 season was an average year but PITT came out very motivated and ready to play and beat #13 VT, whacked #21 Rutgers and just barely lost to #4 ND, in 3 (!) overtimes and in THEIR stadium.
Chryst did an excellent job motivating that team overall I think. It was our overall talent level in addition to some poor in-game coaching decisions that lost most of those seven games. But as you said, PITT came out flat some games and that happens every season to every team. Maybe under Narduzzi we won’t see it.
Tossing, I had talked with some offensive players who had played against Tra’von Chapman in HS and their dads and they each felt he’d never play QB for PITT. That wasn’t for disciplinary reasons but because Chapman just wasn’t that good of a passer in HS. We’ll never really know though.
BTW guys – am leaving for NYC with my daughter so nothing written by me for three days…